The following is an ethnographic field essay about a 25 year-old Mexican American named Jacques. Jacques is a full-time college student at Mankato State University. He lives in a small, predominantly white community near Mankato, Minnesota, about ten miles from his parents. He and his parents are middle class. He has a brother and a sister.
Mankato, Minnesota is culturally a long distance from Mexico City, where Jacques and his family have many relatives. Jacques' family emigrated from Mexico City to Minneapolis shortly after he was born. He is the oldest sibling. After interviewing Jacques, I found that he strongly identifies with Mexican culture, despite the fact that he has been fully "Americanized." I have several observations to make later on this subject.
Jacques' brother and sister have never gone on the trip to Mexico City to visit relatives. Jacques has been to Mexico City three times with his parents. I consider that Jacques has a native tie to Mexico City even though he has grown up in the U.S., giving him a unique perspective which his younger brother and sister cannot appreciate. Because Jacques and I both work for the same company at the St. Paul/Minneapolis Airport, I have had a chance to interview him for short periods during breaks, and I always come away with the same impression: Jacques is glad to be living in the U.S., but he feels like he is part of a minority group here.
Jacques is studying to be a teacher, and because of his bilingual background he will probably have no trouble getting a teaching position. He speaks fluent Spanish on a conversational level, but he tells me that he is much better equipped to write a paper in English than Spanish. He was telling me about a university course in multiculturalism which is required for teacher education. He is the only Hispanic in the class. Not only is he the only Hispanic, but he is the only member of a minority group. There aren't even ...